The Audit Committee of Cornwall Council met on 4 July 2025 to discuss the external auditor's updates, the pension fund audit plan, and strategic risks to the council. The committee also considered the minutes from their previous meeting. Councillors also were scheduled to elect a chairman and vice-chairman.

External Auditor's Updates

The committee was scheduled to review the external auditor's progress report for Cornwall Council. The report includes a sectoral update providing perspective on developments in the local government sector. According to the agenda, Grant Thornton's key audit partner and senior manager were expected to attend the meeting to provide an update and answer questions.

The progress report covers:

• Work to give an opinion on the council's financial statements for 2024/25
• Work on assessing the council's value for money (VFM) arrangements
• Other areas of external audit work
• Sectoral update

The progress report from Grant Thornton noted that a backlog in local audit sign off of nearly 1,000 audits had impacted on local accountability and transparency, and that the purpose of the consultation was to rebuild a system of local audit, ensuring that audited accounts are published on time and that trust and confidence in how councils are spending their money is restored. The report stated that Grant Thornton welcomes the reforms which they believe are much needed.

The report also noted that the May 2025 local elections saw significant turnover in membership at some councils, and that May 2025 marked the 30th anniversary of the Nolan Principles. The Nolan Principles are a code of conduct for people in public office.

The external auditor's update also included a section on the challenges faced by local authorities in implementing IFRS 16¹.

The report also included updates on:

• Local audit reform
• New members and the 30th anniversary of Nolan
• Homelessness
• Housing targets and housing enquiry
• The changing face of adult social care
• Free nursery places
• Complaints data from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

Pension Fund Audit Plan

The committee was scheduled to review the external auditor's plan for the audit of Cornwall Pension Fund. The plan was also on the Pension Fund Committee agenda at its meeting of 19 June, but is also brought to the council's Audit Committee as part of its governance role.

The plan includes sections detailing the approach to:

• Risk
• Materiality²
• IT Audit Strategy
• Fees and other matters

According to the report, the triennial valuations for local government pension funds as at 31 March 2022 (the 2022 valuation) were published in March 2023. These valuations provide updated information regarding the funding position of local government pension funds and set employer contribution rates for the period 2023/24 – 2025/26.

The audit plan identified the following significant risks:

• Management override of controls
• Valuation of Level 3 investments

Strategic Risks Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the council's strategic risks. The report states that it is the remit of the Audit Committee to obtain assurance that risk management arrangements are in place and are working effectively.

The report states that the council has identified eight strategic risks to its strategy and the delivery of the council's four priority outcomes. Each of the risks are linked to one or more of these priority outcomes, owned by one of the Strategic Directors and, as a minimum, reviewed quarterly.

The eight strategic risks identified were:

• Cyber
• Financial and Economic Sustainability
• Business Continuity, Organisational Resilience, Crisis Management, Disaster Recovery
• Workforce Capacity
• Climate Change and Ecological Breakdown
• Global and Macro Economic Shocks
• Sustainable Cornwall
• Supplier and Third-Party

The report also included a risk assessment matrix.